Check signing and endorsing machine



Dec. 15, 1936. H, sw soN 2,064,391

CHECK SIGNING AND ENDORSING MACHINE Filed Sept. 14, 19:55 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fjjalmar afiwczmom Dec. 15, 1936. H. A. SWANSON 2,064,391

CHECK SIGNING AND ENDORSING MACHINE Filed Sept. 14, 1955 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I [El/6W" czZmar a 02042725072,

Patented Dec. 15, 1 936 CHECK SIGNING AND ENDORSING MACHINE I-Ijalmar A. Swanson, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Qummins Perforator CompanyrChicagp, 111., a. corporation of Illinois Application September14, 1935, Serial No. 40,527

6 Claims. (01. 101-236) The invention relates generally to printing mechanism and has more particular reference to improvements in check signing and endorsing machines such as disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,992,256, granted February 26, 1935.

The invention has for its general object to improve the machines of said patent by providing means for preventing overrun of'the type cylinder beyond the normal position which the cylinder should assume when at rest and which will also prevent rebound of the cylinder after engagement with the stop lever has occurred.

A further and more specific object is to provide friction brake means for an intermittently rotating type cylinder which will bring the cylinder to rest in the same position at the end of each printing operation and whichwill hold the cylinder at rest where the stop lever will be free from engagement with the cylinder so that said lever and associated clutch mechanism can be easily tripped by the insertion of a check or work sheet for printing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a check signing and endorsing machine having one or more openings in the top or cover plate supporting the checks or work sheets to be printed and which openings facilitates removal of the checks from the cover in the feeding operation and further render visible to the operator the receptacle for the printed checks to aid in removal of the checks or work sheets from the stacker compartment of the machine.

With these and various other objects in view the invention may consist of certain novel features of construction and operation as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the specification, drawings and claims appended hereto.

In the drawings which illustrate an embodi- 'ment of the device and wherein like reference characters are used to designate like parts Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a check signing and endorsing machine embodying the improvements of the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the machine shown in Figure 1 with the coverplate for the motor and type cylinder compartment removed;

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view showing the brake mechanism for yieldingly holding the type cylinder inproper position when at rest;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 but showing the position the parts assume when the type cylinder is; in firm engagement with the locking lever; and

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view showing the clutchfor initiating rotation of the type cylinder and also showing the locking lever for stopping and holding the type cylinder against rotation.

The machine selected for illustration in the. drawings includes, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, a frame or housing formed of two sections; mounted on a common base Ill, one section comprising side members II and 12, end member 13, partition I4 and a top or cover plate l5, and

the other section comprising side members 16 and Il, an end member 20 and top or cover plate 2|. The latter section provides a receptacle for receiving the printed work sheets and accordingly the side members have portions out therefrom as at 22 to allow access to said receptacle. The top plates l5 and 2| are made flat to provide a support for the work sheets or checks to be printed and in accordance with the invention, plate 2| is provided with one or more openings 23, as best shown in Figure 2, to better enable the operator to handle the checks supported on the plate and particularly to facilitate removal of the last few checks. The openings also give the operator a clear view of the receptacle for the printed checks which is located directly below said openings. By having an unobstructed view of the receptacle during the operation of the machine the operator is better able to keep the printed checks in proper order and also when the stack .of printed checks is removed he can tell whether any have been inadvertently left inthe receptacle.

The section formed by the side members II and I2, end member l3 and cover l5 houses the type cylinder and inking rollers and the means for rotating the same to perform a printing operation when a work sheet or check has been inserted between the printing couple. Power is supplied by an electric motor 24 having a rotor shaft on the end of which is mounted a worm gear 25. The worm gear meshes with gear 26 fixed to a sleeve 21 mounted for independent rotationon'shaft 28, which shaft has fixedly secured thereto the type cylinder 30. Said type cylinder carries a formof type such as 3| and is adapted to actuate through the instrumentalities of a cam 32 the inking roller 33, which is thus forced'or cammed into contact with the reservoir roller 34 suitably journalled by means of shaft 35 within the reservoir 36. Shaft 35 isoperativelyv connected with the sleeve 2'! by thefendles's chain 31 and therefore the reservoir roller-34is rotated continuously. from the motor.

The partition I4 is provided with a number of elongated vertical openings through which project the curved stacking arms 38 fixed to shaft 46, suitably journalled in the frame members H and I2 and which is intermittently rotated by chain 4!, operatively connecting the shaft with sleeve 21.

Located within the section formed by side walls 16 and H and end wall 20 is an impression cylinder 42 fixed to shaft 43 journalled at its ends in the supports 44 which depend from the transverse rod 45. Said supports have pivotal movement on the rod and are resiliently urged by the coil springs 46 in a direction to force the impression cylinder toward the type cylinder. Each support has a rearwardly extending portion 41 yieldingly held by springs 46 in contact with the transverse rod 48 and by means of the set screw 49 in the end of each portion the same can be adjusted with respect to the transverse rod 48 to vary the pressure between the impression and type cylinders. Said transverse rod 48 pivotally carries the stacking member 49 which depends from said shaft, being resiliently rotated in a clockwise direction so that the stacking member will normally position itself adjacent the stacking arms 38.

In the operation of the machine when using the stacking arms 38 and stacking member 49 the checks will be deposited between the same in substantially vertical position and as the checks increase the stacking member will move toward the left to accommodate the larger number. As shown in Figure l, the receptacle is adapted to receive and stack the checks horizontally and is accordingly equipped with a container or tray 50 having a vertical wall 5| which just clears the stacking arms 38 and which supports at its upper end the curved fingers 52 for receiving the printed checks and causing them to assume a horizontal position whereupon they are deposited upon the base of the tray 5| and eventually build up to form a pile as shown in the drawings.

It will be noted that the openings 23 in the cover 2| are disposed directly over the receptacle provided by the section just described and also directly over the container 56 when the same is placed within the receptacle as shown in the drawings. The operator can view the printed checks through said openings which facilitates removal of the checks as it is not necessary for the operator to change his position to the side of the machine as would otherwise be necessary.

The mechanism for releasably coupling the type cylinder 30 with the constantly rotating sleeve 21 for the purpose of performing a printing operation essentially consists of a clutch wheel 53 having a plurality of teeth 54 on the interior surface thereof, as shown in Figure 5, and which is suitably fixed to the end of sleeve 21 and located adjacent an end of the type cylinder. The periphery of said clutch wheel is in contact with a feed wheel 55, supported by the depending arm 56 which is pivotally mounted on the transverse rod 45 and urged in a direction to hold the feed wheel against the clutch wheel by a coil spring similar to 46. When a check or work sheet is dropped through opening 51 of the machine, Figure 1, the leading edge of the check is caused to engage between the constantly rotating clutch and feed wheels and to be thus presented to the printing couple comprising the type and impression cylinders. This initial feeding of the checks causes the leading edge of the same to contact a trip arm 58 positioned to the outside of said wheels and in the path of the inserted check. Said trip arm actuates a pawl 60 pivotally secured by stud 6i to the end of the type cylinder 30 and having formed integral therewith a release arm 62. Actuation of said pawl by the trip arm will cause the pawl to rock in a clockwise direction, forcing the end 63 thereof into engagement with the ratchet teeth 54 of the clutch wheel. However, prior to this engagement of the pawl and clutch wheel the end of the release arm 62 will contact the rounded portion 64 of the locking lever 65 moving the same out of the recess 66 formed in the periphery of the type cylinder and thus the type cylinder is free to rotate.

Upon the insertion of a check or work sheet into the opening 51 of the machine the leading edge thereof will drop between the clutch and feed wheels and will be fed by the continuous rotation of these wheels to the type and impression cylinders. This feeding of the check effects tripping of the arm 58 and accordingly the type cylinder is operatively connected with the constantly rotating clutch wheel and caused to rotate therewith to perform a printing operation. As the type cylinder substantially completes one revolution the end of release arm 62 will strike the fixed stop 61 and the part 63 of the clutch pawl will be forced out of engagement with the ratchet teeth 54 of the clutch. Thus the type cylinder and clutch wheel are disconnected, whereupon the type cylinder is brought to rest by engagement of the locking lever 65 with the shoulder formed by the recessed portion 66 in the periphery of the type cylinder.

In order to decrease the momentum of the rotating type cylinder after the same has been disconnected from the clutch wheel and to thus gradually bring the cylinder to rest, the invention provides a friction brake in the form of a. cam 68, Figures 2 and 3, which is fixedly secured to the type cylinder shaft 28. The periphery of the cam has a flat recessed portion 10 formed thereon which is horizontally disposed as shown in Figure 3 when the type cylinder assumes its normal position of rest. Having frictional contact with the periphery of the cam is a shoe H formed of any suitable material and which is mounted for vertical movement within the guide 12, being yieldingly forced downwardly into contact with the cam by the coil spring 13.

During rotation of the type cylinder the shoe H is in engagement with the curved periphery of the cam. As the cylinder substantially completes a revolution the clutch pawl is released and the clutch and cylinder are disconnected. Further rotation of the cylinder occurs by reason of the momentum of the cylinder but this momentum is considerably lessened by contact of the shoe II with the fiat portion 16 of the cam. This corresponds to the normal position of rest of the cylinder but further rotation of the cylinder will occur and eventually the looking lever 65 will engage the shoulder provided by the recess 66 of the type cylinder and the cylinder will be brought to rest. When the locking lever contacts the shoulder of the recess 66 as described the cam 68 assumes a position as shown in Figure 4 where the flat portion 10 is about to move out of contact with the shoe H. To do so, however, requires a lifting of the shoe against the tension of the coil spring 13 and this effects a slowin up of the rotation of the cylinder so that the shock and jar incident to contact of the locking lever 65 with the type cylinder is reduced to a minimum.

The type cylinder will not remain in position where the locking lever will be in firm contact with the shoulder of recess 66 since the tendency of the shoe H when lifted by portion 16, as shown in Figure 4, is to cause counter-clockwise rotation of the shaft 28 and thus the type cylinder, which continues until the shoe is in full contact with the fiat portion 10, said portion being then in a horizontal position. Thus, it will be observed that the efiect of shoe II and the flat portion iii of the cam is to cause the type cylinder to assume a position of rest where the shoulder formed by recess 66 will be out of contact with the locking lever, Figure 5, leaving the lever and associated parts, including the pawl 60, free so that they can be easily tripped by actuation of the trip arm 58. It is very desirable that the parts of the clutch have freedom of movement as this tends to reduce the force required for tripping the arm 53, and thus the parts are more sensitive and are easily actuated by the feeding of the checks or work sheets.

The friction brake of the invention therefore has a dual function, one to reduce the momentum of the rotating type cylinder after its release from the clutch wheel, and two, to cause the type cylinder to assume a position of rest, which will insure freedom of movement of the parts of the clutch so that little force is required to trip the arm 58 to again initiate rotation of the type cylinder for another printing operation.

The invention is not to be limited to or by details of construction of the particular embodiment thereof illustrated by the drawings, as various other forms of the device will of course be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a check signing and endorsing machine, in combination, an intermittently rotating type cylinder, an impression cylinder yieldingly held in contact therewith, means for initiating the rotation of said type cylinder, means providing a stop for bringing the type cylinder to rest, and means comprising a friction brake for reducing the momentum of the rotating type cylinder, said friction brakealso being operative to cause said type cylinder to assume a particular position at rest.

2. In a check signing and endorsing machine, in combination, an intermittently rotating type cylinder, an impression cylinder yieldingly held in contact therewith, means for initiating the rotation of said type cylinder, means providing a stop for bringing the type cylinder to rest, and means comprising a friction brake for reducing the momentum of the rotating type cylinder prior to bringing said type cylinder to rest, said friction brake also being operative to position the type cylinder at rest, in which position of said type cylinder the stopping means will be out of contact therewith.

3. In a check signing and endorsing machine, in combination, an intermittently driven type cylinder, a rotatable shaft mounting said type cylinder, an impression cylinder yieldingly held in contact with the type cylinder, means for initiating the rotation of said type cylinder, a lever providing a stop for bringing the cylinder to rest, and means fixed to said rotatable shaft providing a friction brake for reducing the momentum of said rotating type cylinder prior to bringingthe same to rest, said friction brake also being operative to cause said type cylinder to assume a particular position when at rest.

4. In a check signing and endorsing machine, in combination, a type cylinder, a rotatable shaft mounting said type cylinder, an impression cylinder yieldingly held in contact therewith, means for initiating rotation of said type cylinder, a lever providing a stop for bringing the cylinder to rest, a cam fixed to the rotatable shaft and having a fiat portion on the periphery thereof, a friction shoe yieldingly held in contact with the periphery of said cam, said friction shoe and fiat portion of said cam being operative to cause the type cylinder to assume a particular position when at rest, and in which positionthe type cylinder is out of contact with said stop lever.

5. In a check signing and endorsing-machine,

in combination, a frame, a shaft journalled in the frame and having a type cylinder mounted thereon, a clutch wheel mounted for rotation on said shaft, animpression cylinder journalled in the frame for cooperating with the type cylinder, means including a clutch pawl positioned between the cylinder and said clutch wheel for operatively connecting the type cylinder with said clutchwheel to cause rotation of the cylinder, means adapted to be engaged by a sheet inserted between the cylinders to cause the pawl to engage the clutch wheel, a stop adapted to contact the type cylinder for bringing the cylinder to rest, and means fixed to the type cylinder shaft providing a friction brake, said means being operative to cause the type cylinder to assume a particular position when at rest, and in which position the type cylinder is out of contact with the stop.

6. A check signing and endorsing machine, in combination, an intermittently driven type cylinder, a rotatable shaft journalling the same, clutch means for controlling the rotation of the type cylinder, a pivoted lever providing a stop for bringing the cylinder to rest, a cam fixed to said shaft, and a shoe yieldingly engaging the periphery of said cam and forming in connection therewith friction means operative to cause the type cylinder to assume'a particular position when at rest.

HJALMAR A. SWANSON. 

